


Blurred Edges (in my arms)

by Sutured_Sentiment



Series: Coldflash Week 2017 [7]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Coldflash Week 2017, M/M, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel, Tumblr: coldflashweek, protective Len
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 13:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11014656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sutured_Sentiment/pseuds/Sutured_Sentiment
Summary: Barry’s loss had hit them hard. It seemed they were the only ones, though. Everyone else had forgotten the hero all together.He’d been erased from all of their memories, and it broke Len’s heart.Written for Coldflash Week 2017- Day Eight: Time Travel





	Blurred Edges (in my arms)

Len was at STAR Labs watching the many screens anxiously. He had been a part of “Team Flash” for a few months now, but he didn’t think it would ever get easier to watch Barry go off into battle with a metahuman that could potentially end his life. He always felt better when it was a mission he could accompany the speedster on, but with this particular meta problem, they were a bit pressed for time. Finally, after what felt like forever, Barry’s voice crackled over the comms.

“I’ve got him. I’m on my way,” he reported and Len allowed a deep sigh of relief. There was the distinct  _ whoosh _ of Barry’s running, indicating that he was back and probably locking the metahuman in his cell. Sure enough, when they looked on the security feeds, they saw just that. Barry grinned and sent a thumbs-up to the camera, and Len had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Barry could be such a child sometimes. He smiled fondly.

“G-guys? We have a problem.” Len’s eyes flashed back to the video footage, but Barry was already zipping into the room. When he stopped in front of them, his eyes were wide with fear. Len felt his stomach drop.

Barry was blurring at the edges, his body becoming nearly transparent in some places.

“What the hell,” he said as he looked over to Caitlin and Cisco for some kind of explanation. They were staring at Barry with just as much confusion. 

“Guys, I don’t feel so…” Barry pitched forward, his eyes rolling into his head. Len rushed forward to catch him, but as he went to wrap his arms around him, Barry went straight through him. He landed at Len’s feet with a sickening thud. Len stood frozen, his hands grasping at nothing. 

“W-what,” he rasped. He looked down slowly, his eyes wide. His hands trembled as he kneeled down beside Barry’s prone form. He reached out a hesitant hand. He was afraid he would go straight through again, that he wouldn’t be able to  _ touch  _ him. He took a shaky breath and rested his hand atop Barry’s head. It was solid. He turned towards the other two. They were still rooted to the spot, their expressions shocked and concerned. 

“What’s happening to him?”

They were luckily able to pick Barry up and move him to the bed in the infirmary. Len refused to leave his side. Cisco and Caitlin were scouring every source they could, frantically searching for any kind of explanation. It was difficult. There weren’t exactly many books on  _ super speed _ .

“We need to call Joe. He should know… he should know what’s happening,” Caitlin said. Len swallowed thickly and nodded. Caitlin left the room to make the call, and a heavy silence fell over the room. Len clutched Barry’s hand tightly in his own and stared into the other’s motionless face, as if willing him to wake up. He only looked away when Caitlin came running into the room. Her face was twisted in fear.

“Joe didn’t know what I was talking about.” She glanced over at Barry.

“ _ Who  _ I was talking about. He doesn’t know Barry,” she said in a shaking voice. There was a sound like the crackling of electricity in the air and they both looked down at Barry’s body. His body was rapidly blurring and disappearing. Len’s heart hammered wildly against the inside of his chest, as if trying to break free of it’s cage. He grasped for him, his fingers fumbling for anything he could reach; the fabric of his collared shirt, his pale hands,  _ anything _ . But there was nothing, and Barry was gone.

“Barry!”

Len was agitated and panicked as they continued to search for any clues as to what had happened and how they could get Barry back. He wasn’t sleeping and he could barely bring himself to eat more than a meal a day. The rest of his time was devoted to research. He was running on five cups of coffee a morning; extra shots of caffeine in each. The rest of the team had tried everything they could to convince him to take better care of himself, but how could he? He couldn’t. Not when Barry was  _ god-knows-where _ . 

After a restless week, Caitlin finally had something. She came into the room where Len had holed himself up for the majority of the week- there were stacks of books  _ everywhere _ . She had a piece of paper clenched tightly in her fist. It looked to be an old newspaper clipping. She read it out loud to them.

“‘ _ On this day, March 18, in the year 2000, Nora Allen was murdered by her husband, Henry Allen. Also killed was their young son, Bartholomew Allen. Henry Allen was convicted and sent to prison to pay for the horrid murder of his family.’ _ ” The pieces all fell into place and he felt a surge of anger. 

“Eobard Thawne,” he snarled. He jumped to his feet and headed for the door. Caitlin rushed to catch up with him.

“Where are you going?” Len didn’t slow in his pace, didn’t even look at her when he gave his response.

“To save Barry. Where’s Cisco?” Caitlin raised a slender brow.

“He’s with the main console, probably still researching. Why?” Len’s jaw was set in determination.

“I’m going to need a new gun.”

A couple unbearable weeks later, they had a functioning time travel gun. Len was wary of the thing, but if there was any chance of it being the key to saving Barry’s life, he would take it. 

“So, how exactly does this work?” Cisco gave him a smile, though it didn’t quite reach his sad eyes. It was but a shadow of his mega-watt grin from weeks earlier. Barry’s loss had hit them hard. It seemed they were the only ones, though. Everyone else had forgotten the hero all together. He’d been erased from all of their memories, and it broke Len’s heart.

“Basically we’ve harnessed the same amount of energy that Barry generated when he went back in time to save his mom before, and we compressed it into this little gun. That’s the simple explanation anyway. We don’t have time to really delve into the science here.” That wasn’t technically true. They had all the time in the world. Barry was dead after all. It wasn’t like he was waiting for them to save him. But  _ they _ couldn’t wait any longer. They  _ wouldn’t _ .

“When you pull the trigger, it will spark the system to create the necessary energy- hopefully without an explosion,” Cisco continued nervously. Len couldn’t bring himself to care about the risks. He couldn’t imagine any more of a life without Barry Allen. He carefully took the gun from Cisco. It was a delicate piece of work, and any careless move could set it off with not-so-fun consequences. 

“You ready?” Len closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath.

“No,” he said. And with that, he pulled the trigger and his world was turned a blinding white behind his eyelids. He only opened them when the world stopped spinning and his eyesight cleared, leaving black spots dancing across his vision. He pressed a hand to his throbbing head and groaned. That was certainly…  _ unpleasant _ .

He looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar room. Though, the pictures hanging on the walls showed a more than familiar face. A child Barry smiled back at him through the glass. His face was softer and his eyes larger, but it was unmistakably Barry. His heart gave a painful throb.  _ Barry _ .

He walked over to where a set of curtains were drawn and peeked out through the window. It was dark out and stars twinkled dully in the night sky.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as lightning suddenly crackled through the air. A strong gust of wind blew through the room. Suddenly there was a scream coming from the other room. Len leapt into action, already missing the reassuring weight of his cold gun and wishing he had thought to bring it. 

A woman was sitting in the middle of the room, her bright hair whipping around her as a ring of red and yellow lightning encircled her. Before he could leap into the fray, there was a voice behind him. It was soft and full of terror.

“Mom!” He whipped around to face the small boy. He was in his pajamas and looked about ready to bolt into the electrical storm himself. Len couldn’t let that happen. He faced the lightning again, trying to pick out the two men in the storm. He could feel the familiar warmth of Barry’s- _his_ Barry’s- electricity. It was warm and it crackled with life. There was no malicious intent behind it. His Barry was here, fighting the Reverse Flash by himself, and Len knew that if he didn’t help now, he would l _ose_.

“Barry! Take him and run! Get the kid out of here,” he shouted above the noise. There was a disturbance in the constant wall of energy, and Len knew his message had been received. In a second the kid was gone. He watched the remaining two occupants in the room, knowing he couldn’t do anything to prevent what was about to happen, but desperately wishing he could for Barry. He watched it happen. Barry was safe; he was gone. And now so was Nora Allen. He took his gun and raised it, ready to pull the trigger, when a body slammed into him. Before he knew what was happening, he was being lifted up against the wall by the front of his jacket. An enraged face was staring up at him. A man in yellow; Eobard Thawne.

“How dare you! Do you have any idea what you just cost me,” the speedster shouted in his face. Len glared down at him as his mind went into overdrive. He was not going to die here. Not when he had only just saved Barry. He needed to see him, to make sure he was safe.

“I’m from the future. A future where there is no Flash. You killed him.” Eobard was grinning madly now at the thought, and Len had to resist the urge to punch him.

“But the world was in ruins. Everything was gone.  _ You’re _ world was gone.” Len hoped he would buy it. Eobard took in a shuddering breath, his eyes narrowing.

“And you; are you a friend of the Flash,” he questioned suspiciously. Len gritted his teeth. ‘ _ No. I’m something more… and I’m pissed _ .’

“ _ Me _ ? A friend of the  _ Flash _ ? Never,” he hissed. Something squeezed painfully inside his chest. There was a long pause before Eobard finally released him.

“Very well,” he said, and in an instant he was gone. Len slumped to the ground and stared at where Nora Allen lay on the ground, a patch of red spreading across her front. He felt tears stinging at his eyes. ‘ _ I’m sorry _ .’ He raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

“Barry?” The speedster groaned. He was laying in the same spot he had been just weeks earlier, before he had disappeared. Len was squeezing his hand tightly.

“Barry, please open your eyes,” he begged. He sounded desperate. Barry cracked open his eyes to find Len’s relieved face above his own. He gave the man a soft smile.

“Hey,” he rasped. That one word snapped any resolve and self control Len possessed. He lunged forward and gathered the hero in his arms. Barry stiffened at the sudden contact. Len was  _ not  _ a touchy-feely person. He hesitantly returned the hug and Len tightened his hold. His shoulders were shaking and Barry’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Len? Are you okay?” Len nodded against his shoulder before pulling back to look at him with shining eyes.

“I am now. God, Barry, don’t ever leave. Don’t ever-” his voice cracked and he went in for another hug, holding the shocked speedster as close as he could. He needed to feel the warmth of him, the rise and fall of his chest, his heart beating in his chest. He needed to feel that Barry was actually  _ here _ . He was alive.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay,” Barry said.

Len refused to let go for a very long time, and Barry was content in letting the man cling to him. He scooted over and Len climbed onto the bed next to him, still keeping his grip on him. Barry kept whispering reassurances to him, rubbing comforting circles over his arm. And Len wanted nothing more than for this moment to last forever. Barry was where he belonged; safely tucked into his arms. He wanted to hide the hero away from the world where he could never be hurt again.


End file.
